Logan
In January, my daughter was complaining about a sore knee so I called Sterling Ridge Orthopaedics to see if I could get an appointment. I was thinking it would be several weeks until I could get in, but when I explained what was going on and that she had pain and swelling they informed me that they could squeeze her in that afternoon with Dr. Hayes.
Before he saw us they wanted to X-ray the knee. To be honest I was thinking to myself, “Is this really necessary?” because it seemed like overkill. Dr. Hayes came in shortly after the x-ray and examined the knee and brought a pair of crutches and firmly but nicely told her to keep weight off it. He then asked me to join him for a second. When we got in the hall he showed me the X-ray. Instead of sharp lines on her left femur at the knee, the image appeared cloudy and had a slight fracture.
When I asked what it was, he explained it could be any number of things and that we had an MRI scheduled for that night at 11 p.m. This is when I knew it wasn’t good. Dr. Hayes must have read my expression and said to me, “We got you. We are going to walk you through every step.” Then we exchanged cell numbers so he could communicate directly with me. The next morning at 6:30, I got a text from Dr. Hayes telling me they thought it was osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and that I needed to take her back for another MRI to make sure it had not spread up her femur. Then he asked if he could share my number with Mindy who works with him and not to worry; they were going to walk me through every step. Mindy called and said to expect a call from MD Anderson. They called back and within a week of Dr. Hayes’ diagnosis we had every test you have ever heard of at MD Anderson, and a game plan.
Since then, Dr. Hayes has continued to stay in personal contact with us and is our biggest cheerleader. His selflessness and kindness are beyond words. Logan has had a full knee salvage operation, a total of 30+ weeks of chemo (still has 7 rounds left), and is doing awesome. What I found out as I was bragging on Dr. Hayes and his group is that they are the best around. What I also found out is they care, even for people they hardly know. They got us hooked up with Dr. Lewis from MDA who I have heard is the top limb salvage doctor specializing in oncology and she’s awesome. Our oncologist, Dr. Daw, is one of the smartest, coolest, most compassionate experts in solid tumors alive. Logan and I dropped by the other day to say hello to Dr. Hayes and Mindy unannounced, and they rushed out passing out hugs while grinning from ear to ear. It was like they were excited kids on Christmas and Logan was their gift. No kidding! If that doesn’t make you feel good, then you just can’t feel good.
Without the compassion, guidance, and sense of urgency from Dr. Hayes I don’t know how this story would go. Ours is full of miracles! Logan’s doctors, Mindy, Whitney, all the nurses, friends and family have given Logan a chance to survive and thrive!
- Bert Patterson, Logan's dad
Learn More about Logan and her Fight Against Cancer on this TODAY Show Interview
The Today Show recently featured Logan at Camp A.O.K., a retreat just outside of Houston that caters to teens being treated at MD Anderson's cancer hospital.